1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to compositions, kits, and methods for predicting prognosis of ovarian cancer or a risk of recurrence of ovarian cancer, and more particularly, to compositions for treating ovarian cancer or preventing recurrence of ovarian cancer and methods of screening a material for treating ovarian cancer or preventing recurrence of ovarian cancer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ovarian carcinoma is a cancer that has the highest lethality among female malignancies, and this high lethality results from chemoresistance and frequent recurrence of ovarian carcinoma. Several agents have been developed to prevent or treat ovarian carcinoma, but the mortality and rate of recurrence of ovarian carcinoma are still high.
Recently, interest in cancer stem cells (CSCs), which exist in small numbers within tumors and have high tumorigenic capacity, has been increasing. CSCs were initially isolated from ovarian serous carcinomas (OSCs) by a spheroid formation assay, and are presumed to be one of the major causes of recurrence and chemoresistance of cancers. However, no effective strategies for reducing CSCs and lowering the high recurrence and mortality rates of ovarian cancer have been developed yet.